While many people might not give a second thought to what goes into waste management, members of the Bradley Sunrise Rotary Club recently learned about the sloppy subject. Cheryl Dunson, executive vice president of marketing for Santek Waste Services, spoke about her company and what goes into creating sites like the Bradley County Landfill.
Dunson said many people do not realize Santek, a company which does business in nine states, actually has its corporate office in Cleveland. 鈥淥ur mission is to provide the best solid waste disposal solutions with a commitment to cost-efficiency and environmental integrity,鈥濃�圖unson said.
While the company does offer residential garbage pickup to thousands of people in the Southeast, it also manages 16 publicly-owned landfills. Dunson explained the company actually got its start when Chief Executive Officer鈥圞en Higgins decided he could build a business on managing landfills.
She said Santek handles the construction and maintenance of local landfills, which she noted can 鈥渕inimize鈥濃�坱he costs to local governments. 鈥淭ypically, their equipment needs are immense,鈥濃�圖unson said. 鈥淲e already have the equipment.鈥�
The Bradley County Landfill was privatized in 1987, she said. Since then, Santek has been managing it. Though the company began offering waste collection services in 1998, Dunson said landfill management still makes up about 50 percent of the company鈥檚 business.
Due to regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency, Dunson said it can be quite expensive to start a landfill these days. She said it typically costs between $250,000 and $300,000 per acre to prepare a landfill site for use. That would likely result in a much pricier project if another landfill were to be built in Bradley鈥圕ounty today. The current county landfill consists of 64 acres 鈥� 32 acres for the actual waste and 32 acres of land which serves as mandatory buffer.
She noted building a landfill requires a detailed hydrological study which ensures the landfill will not interfere too much with local groundwater supplies, wetlands or wildlife. Dunson also said she recalled being part of a public hearing back when the Bradley County Landfill was being planned. To her surprise, the room was 鈥減acked鈥濃�坵ith people who supported the location which was ultimately chosen.
She also explained the process of building a new landfill. Going into much technical detail, she explained that layers of clay, polyethylene liners, drainage rock and other materials are placed onsite to help protect the native soil from the garbage.
A鈥坰ystem of pipes is also placed in the ground to drain the leachate 鈥� or 鈥済arbage juice鈥濃�堚�� which might otherwise oversaturate the landfill. That then goes to a sewage treatment plant. Groundwater wells are also onsite to allow workers to make sure the levels stay where they are supposed to be. Methane levels are also carefully monitored.
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